Businesses, regardless of type or size, are slowly considering the incorporation of big data into their daily management and operations tasks. One concrete example of this is Domino’s Pizza, the largest pizza delivery chain in the world. Domino’s recently dived into the big data territory when it introduced Domino’s AnyWare, an online platform that allows customers to order their pizzas through text (SMS), by tweet, Smart TVs, smart watches, by sending an Emoji, and via Ford SYNC. The goal was to divert 50% of its orders to digital platforms.

Domino’s AnyWare campaign is just one example of how big data can be used to reach out to more customers and then drive customer satisfaction. It’s a totally innovative and effective way of marketing. The move is also seen as a good way of capturing and generating data that would enable Domino’s to evaluate and understand marketing and customer needs.

What is Big Data?

While a lot of people think that big data is a BIG word, it actually is more than that. Big data is a term or catchphrase that refers to a large volume of structured, unstructured and semi-structured data that can be used for gathering information. Because of its massive size, big data processing does not use traditional software or database.

Big data can be identified by three factors:

1. massive data volume,
2. a wide variety of data types, and
3. data processing velocity.

The analytics used in big data (or big data analytics) are integrated with cloud computing as it is the best way to store large amounts of data. Cloud computing also makes large data accessible and easy to distribute.

Big Data and Customer Satisfaction

Big data, as used by Domino’s Pizza, can help businesses analyze customer information (or any information for that matter) in a matter of minutes. The pizza company also relies on big data to optimize their day-to-day operations. In both instances, Domino’s is able to improve its relationship with customers. This is what makes big data a good tool for companies aiming to enhance customer experience.

Aside from this, there are other benefits of big data, especially for enterprises that want a competitive edge.

1. Big data will help keep your most important data safe. Real-time big data analytics, such as the one Domino’s uses, provides protection by detecting potential threats. It can identify, detect and protect sensitive information.

2. Big data is a good platform for communicating with customers. Real-time updates and conversations with customers are doable. This will allow businesses to carefully study customers and their needs, which in turn can help identify what a company needs to do to satisfy its clients. For example, to address issues related to late delivery or serving of orders, Domino’s AnyWare asks customers to create a Pizza Profile that contains their address and credit card details. This works hand-in-hand with Easy Order, which contains information about a customer’s address, preferred payment option, order preference (carry out or delivery) and favorite order. This minimizes preparation and delivery time because the customer’s important details, including pizza preference, were already logged into the system.

3. Big data helps identify and evaluate customers’ buying patterns. Again, in the case of Domino’s, the structured and unstructured data that they get allows them to examine the buying/ordering habits of both their individual and multiple patrons. In one household, for instance, they can gather data and find out buying patterns that help them identify who is more dominant, who is more receptive to promos and so on. This allows Domino’s to then come up with separate marketing plans or promos for different buyers. With big data, staying up-to-date with the latest marketing trends is possible.

4. In the case of businesses with multiple stores, big data will help make evaluating easier. Checking on a store’s growth and performance will no longer be tedious, especially when compared to 100% manual assessment. Additionally, managers will be able to get hold of data that will give them an idea about what should be avoided and what does not work for the store.

5. The first four items mentioned above will all result to better responsiveness, which is an important factor for enterprises like Domino’s. Big data would enable companies to create the best product and then deliver this to customers in the fastest time and in the best situation possible. It is one way of being aggressive and making a significant mark in the market.

Domino’s AnyWare: Risky but worth it investment

Domino’s AnyWare captures data from different channels. Customers can order through text messaging and by tweeting. They can do these using Android devices, Pebble, Samsung TV, Ford SYNC (Ford’s in-car app) and Amazon Echo (wireless voice command). The pizza company has an information management framework where all the data from customers are gathered. These data are then integrated with other data collected from third party sources. This allows for effective customer segmentation.

All gathered data are unified and “processed”. The pizza company then uses the processed data to study their customers and what these buyers want. This allows Domino’s to come up with solutions that will fit their segmented customer population.

Domino’s gamble with AnyWare might be quite risky, but it has paid off well. More than 50% of the company’s customers now place their orders online, via several digital platforms available through AnyWare.

Conclusion

Whatever a business offers – whether products or services – the customers play a vital role. Without them, the company itself may not survive the grueling market competition. To make customers stay, enterprises should know how to satisfy these clienteles. But this is very challenging. Customers have varying needs, wants and satisfaction levels. This is where big data comes in.

Big data analytics provide businesses important insights on customer behavior, thereby allowing them to become more sensitive and responsive. Big data helps business stay updated with marketing trends. It may be a big technological investment, but it is a good platform for effective and efficient marketing. Companies should invest in big data if they want to leverage their performance to a whole new level. Just like what Domino’s Pizza is doing.

Photo courtesy of Domino’s Pizza.